By kelly, on August 30th, 2010
One of the “funny” things I’ve noticed from going back to school is how hard it is to be on time.
One of the bad habits of humping it through the corporate 8-5 world, is that I pretty much had stopped arriving on time in the morning.
I usually got to work at 8:20 am, if I was lucky, 8:40 if I was running late. If it was a new job, I may have shown up on time the first week at 8:00 am sharp, but this usually didn’t carry over to the next week. I guess it’s the unorganized INFP in me.
Now I found myself stressing on getting to class on time in the morning, especially to the 8:00 am figure drawing class that I have. Teachers seem to stress the importance of getting to class promptly on time as a that is what is dictated on the “real world”.
However, in my experience this was hardly the case. Most people were usually late to work in the mornings and even meetings. I’m not saying its good, or bad, just my version of the real world I guess.
Of course, now if I’m late in the morning I’m faced with getting counted as absent or worst yet, locked out of the classroom. Maybe this exercise in punctuality will have a prolong effect on my well-being in the “real world” again.
By kelly, on August 29th, 2010
Finally, this week we had our first drawing assignment.
We were required to do a two contour drawings of a still life. One, from a standing position and the other one sitting down.
This allowed us to look at the same view from different perspectives.
I thought I spent way too much time on my drawings, but I haven’t drawn much in the last couple of weeks and it took a little while to get going.
I used a 2B drawing pencil.
By kelly, on August 26th, 2010
Here is one project that I completed this summer in Designing for New Technologies at UALR.
The smokey type was done with Arial lettering. I applied the Blur filter -> Motion, then the filter Distort -> Wave.
Not that anyone really cares, but I needed to write it down if I ever forgot!
Just two weeks ago, when I presented the design to my teacher, he asked me how I did it but I had totally forgotten.
By kelly, on August 24th, 2010
Well, its back to school this week!?
I shake my head at the list of classes that I have:
Graphic Design I
Photography I
Figure Drawing
3D Design
Yes, by definition I am now, 100%, an art student. With that comes some indignation at the way my past academic career has panned out. Hopefully, this time around, the goals will be my own.
Sure, I could be probably be a designer or photographer sans degree, but I do look forward to the network of people that I will meet in the process. School will also help me grow as an artist, at least faster then doing it on my own.
Gotta go buy my school supplies now!
By kelly, on August 23rd, 2010
The end of the line for us was in Taos.
Nestled underneath the mountains in big sky country, Taos was a beautiful diversion from the starkness of southern New Mexico.
Mountains are fascinating to me…
Growing up in Arkansas, surrounded by the Poteau mountain range, the peaks never got old. This was especially true at sunset.
Obviously they are foothills compared to what is in northern New Mexico, but fascinating all the same.
Now I must queue up my Ansel Adams inspired shot…
By kelly, on August 22nd, 2010
One of the things that I immediately noticed about Sante Fe, was the quality of light.
Everyday as the afternoon sun set, the light became inspirational in its own right. It was easy to see why an artist such as Georgia O’Keefe might make her home here. I wanted to set up an easel and paint right away. There were plenty of subjects around, many enjoying a lazy afternoon at the plaza.
We ventured up to nearby Canyon Road. Along the road contains an assortment of galleries by the dozens! It was truly amazing to see so many quality pieces of work in one area.
Luckily, it was Friday night, so we were able to “crash” a few gallery openings and partake in conversations with some of the artists.
My favorite artist of the night was Nicholas Wilton who was showing his pieces at the Selby Fleetwood Gallery.
Nicholas, was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me discussing his art and methods. His work was top notch and extremely inspirational.
By kelly, on August 19th, 2010
Well, what to do after leaving a job? Take a vacation!
I just got back from a 7 day vacation to the southwest (Santa Fe/Taos, NM).
It was relaxing and bothersome at the same time. I took my Rollei 6008 film camera in order to use some of the 40 odd rolls of film I have in my fridge. However, the back of the camera wouldn’t close properly so I wasn’t able to use any film. Luckily I had my 5d digital along with me.
It was nice to get away from Arkansas for a bit. However, it was hard to really cut loose and enjoy myself since I do not have a job. For instance, eating out sometimes consisted of a can of tuna and crackers.
Alas, we still had a great time and saw some amazing scenery and remnants of route 66. Below are a couple of shots I took from cadillac ranch in Amarillo, Texas, located just off of I-40.
By kelly, on July 30th, 2010
I sort of mentally crashed the last couple of days.
I had turned in my adobe illustrator self-portrait, on Monday but wasn’t happy with the results.
I felt worse after our critique in class where I get to see how the other students did. Mine was very amateurish and not very detailed, compared to most of the other students. So I was pretty bummed.
I was also a little upset when I found out that I made a 85 on my last project which had dealt with triadic, complementary, and analogous colors.
For this project, the teacher had goaded over my photos in class almost to the point of embarrassment, so I was a little shocked when I got a B.
I really wanted an A for the class, so I’m a little let down that I may not be able to attain that. I guess it is just now hitting me, how art can be so subjective. Sort of the same scenario I had last semester.
I guess grading art is not like checking computer code to see if it runs or taking a multiple choice quiz.
I still love the process of making art, but this short summer session has really pushed me creatively in learning the adobe suite and I’m a little bruised up in the process.
By kelly, on July 28th, 2010
I spent 3 hours last night trying to come up with a photograph that will be used for a design class project.
The photograph will be used as a postcard for a kitchen supply store. Most of the students spent time yesterday downloading photographs to use from the internet. Being a ‘photographer’, I decided it would be more original and better for my ego if I photographed something myself.
I tried to organize a composition using dishes, cups, and bowls that were in the cabinet. I filled the cups/bowls with water to get some since of liquid with the idea of coloring it in photoshop. I have to say it didn’t really turn out, so I may have to google some photos today for class 
Below is an example of what I was trying to do. I was trying to bounce the strobes off the ceiling to hit the dishware, but for some shots it was still a little grey. I think something like this would have worked for a restaurant or coffeeshop, but not really kitchen ware. Forgive the shoddy photoshop work, I was just trying to get a general concept.
By kelly, on July 27th, 2010
Been trying to figure out a dream I had last night..
I was hundreds of feet high above the ground on a platform. In front of me was an easel and a box of pastels. I was drawing the most beautiful picture.
It was a Grecian Parthenon-like structure suspended high on a group of columns. I think there were some angels in there somewhere. The funny thing was that I couldn’t figure out how to get off the platform and was freaking out. Finally, I just jumped off the platform and to my surprise it slowly dissolved and I just calmly stepped on the ground.
It’s also funny because I’ve never drawn with pastels before.
I guess I could say that the dream is reflecting my fear of doing something new in life, ‘having my feet off the ground’ so to speak.
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